It Happened One Night Reviews and Ratings


  • killantzb4itzl8
    November 23, 2009
    killantzb4itzl8
    One of the best romantic comedies known to date, and one of my personal favorites.
    Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert were perfect.

    Oscar Shapeley: You know, there's nothing I like better than to meet a high-class mama that can snap 'em back at ya. 'Cause the colder they are, the...( read more) hotter they get. That's what I always say. Yes, sir, when a cold mama gets hot, boy, how she sizzles.

    Ellie Andrews: I'll stop a car, and I won't use my thumb!
    Peter Warne: What're you gonna do?
    Ellie Andrews: It's a system all my own.

    Peter Warne: You show me a good piggy-backer and I'll show you a real human. Now you take Abraham Lincoln for instance. A natural born piggy-backer. Where do you get all of that stuffed-shirt family of yours?
  • PoofyPuff1000
    November 21, 2009
    PoofyPuff1000
    Great romantic comedy from Frank Capra. The relationship between Gable and Colbert just sizzles.
  • Yelverton
    November 20, 2009
    Yelverton
    The film that started the romantic comedy genre.
  • honey090875
    November 14, 2009
    honey090875
    love conquers tragedies..
  • Williaaam
    November 5, 2009
    Williaaam
    Excelente pelicula, escenas memorables !
  • ristrawn
    October 13, 2009
    ristrawn
    good, funny, romantic & real about surviving on little with a great ending "let the walls tumble down." Classic scene & line "the limb is stronger than the thumb." Clark Gable & Claudette Colbert were fantastic together & earned their Oscar awards along with Capra...
  • RThornhill
    October 13, 2009
    RThornhill
    Loved this charming and very funny film from Frank Capra. It deserved the five Oscars it garnered in 1934. Highly recommended.
  • jam233
    September 30, 2009
    jam233
    It Happened One Night is one of the greatest romantic comedies of all time. It's not a big budget film, but that didn't hinder the on screen magic this film created. Everything came together perfectly - the cast, art direction, screenplay, direction, writing etc. Clark Gable, and...( read more) especially Claudette Colbert are outstanding. A great classic in every sense of the word.
  • hstoosy
    August 30, 2009
    hstoosy
    a classic..! priceless.. i happen to see it when i was a kid on tv probably took it for granted as in those days the indians made a remake of this movie staring Amir Khan and Puja Bhatt
  • fluturash
    August 27, 2009
    fluturash
    my personal favorite so far. it's got everything this genre needs : fabulous acting, some very memorable scenes and an ending so hilarious it's inviting you to watch it again and again and again and again........
  • jedihobbit
    August 23, 2009
    jedihobbit
    Cute and actually quite entertaining.
  • OhCaptainMyCaptian
    August 22, 2009
    OhCaptainMyCaptian
    Ellie Andrews is dumb. And then I got mad at Peter. The whole lot of them drove me insane. Good though. I guess.
  • Sunshineyness
    August 16, 2009
    Sunshineyness
    Probably the most famous pre-coder this is arguably the first screwball comedy and it really is a whole lot of fun. The notorious hitchhiking scene is probably the best part and just so well played out.

    Gable is actually really funny here! And shirtless! Both a positive in my op...( read more)inion. Colbert plays the heiress who's not really a bad person perfectly and both have such fun chemistry together.

    Fun fact: apparently Gable's performance was the inspiration for Bugs Bunny. Particularly the way he talked whilst eating a carrot.
  • djabonillojr2008
    August 6, 2009
    djabonillojr2008
    wonderful and thrilling right under your toes. fantastically cute film.
  • mrpopcorn
    August 6, 2009
    mrpopcorn
    "Two great lovers of the screen in the grandest of romantic comedies !"

    A spoiled heiress, running away from her family, is helped by a man who's actually a reporter looking for a story. But then he falls for her...

    ...( read more)REVIEW
    Admiration for wonderful subtle acting, for the script, the wonderful cast of supporting characters, It is nearly 75 years since this was made, and apart from the previously mentioned bonuses, there is also true Americana to be found, as in the term for "motel" was "auto camp" and a helicopter was called an "auto gyro". The scene on the bus where "the daring young man on his flying trapeze" is sung has to be a classic. Clark and Claudette glow in this. Even though some of it is quite ahead of its time (sharing the room, the famous undershirt scene which caused undershirt sales to drop 50% in the year it was released) the suggestions of hitting her to keep her in line are appalling today. Roscoe Karns as Shapely gives a winning performance and nearly steals the movie.
  • darksideofthemoon858
    July 26, 2009
    darksideofthemoon858
    I really do love this movie. And it's not because the main character's name is Ellie. I'm surprised that they haven't remade this movie yet. Hopefully they don't because I think that they would mess up this wonderful movie.
  • hayd2dq
    July 7, 2009
    hayd2dq
    It's a very cute movie!! It was actually funny!! Clark Gable is amazing and adorable!! Claudette Colbert isn't too bad either. It has an entertaining story line, and I enjoyed it very much.
  • firehorse6640
    June 27, 2009
    firehorse6640
    Blow the trumpet and tear down that wall!!
  • HenrikSchunk
    June 27, 2009
    HenrikSchunk
    Considered by many to be the first screwball comedy, one must admit it does kind of establish a handful of classic formulas still to be found in the movies today. The love story of a runaway rich girl and the smooth newspaper reporter is classic Capra, with excellent male lead an...( read more)d a witty screenplay. Yet, the story is, except the dialogues and punts, a bit cautious and does not extend over the basic 'man loves woman' issue (think other Capra's such as Arsenic and Old Lace or A wonderful life, where the love interest was not the singular focus). This takes a bit away from Capra's usual grittyness but makes an enjoyable movie still. Clark Gable steals the show and it is a shame he did not make more comedy movies, because he made me laugh out loud a few times during the movie (when he starts singing on the bus or the hoax fight the couple is having), Colbert is a mezmerizing lead, but a bit limited due to her character's nature and she does not have the suave of a Hepburn.

    Still, it is "only" a 4 for me, due to the dull story line, of which Capra squeezed out all he could with that magic touch he perfected later in his career.

    A must see though for cineasts, giving its status in film history (it was made in 1934 after all, so it is one of the early classic talkies and screwballs, if not the first).
  • JamesThePirate
    June 23, 2009
    JamesThePirate
    SEEN IT
    REVIEW COMING SOON
  • rickrudge
    June 11, 2009
    rickrudge
    It Happened One Night (1934)

    A lot of people think that Clark Gable made it big after playing the gangster who pushes Norma Shearer on the couch in A Free Soul (1931) and telling her that you're mine, you got that? Personally, I think that Gable really came into his own after m...( read more)aking It Happened One Night on loan to Columbia pictures. It was after this movie, that MGM basically wrote that same character into all of his scripts from there on out. What ever works for you.

    Gable plays Peter, a newly fired reporter for a New York newspaper who meets Ellen Andrews (Claudette Colbert) on a bus heading back to her newly eloped playboy husband, King Westley (Jameson Thomas) to the disappointment of her rich Father (Walter Connolly).

    Ellen is a spoiled little rich girl, and is completely clueless to the ways of the common folk, so Peter offers to take her back to King Westley in exchange for an exclusive story about her. Through all of these adventures, and growing sexual tension, Peter and Ellie find that they're falling in love with each other.

    There are many memorable scenes with this movie. The famous stripping scene next to the "Walls of Jericho", the hitch hiking scene where the leg is more powerful than the thumb, and the Flying Trapeze sing-along on the bus, all make this a movie to add to your DVD collection.
  • melodyofyourdemise
    June 7, 2009
    melodyofyourdemise
    Ellie (colbert) decides to marry a man her father doesn't approve of and finds herself literally having to jump ship to make it back to her newly wed husband. In her journey back to NYC, she meets Peter (Gable) who happens to be a NYC newpaper reporter. Ellie low on cash and Pete...( read more)r eager to help (for his own benefits of getting the soon to be must-read newpaper story) helps her out throughout the trip.

    In the process, the two fight & laugh their way into each other's heart but are they truly falling for one another or is she just doing it for the help & him for the story?! only time will tell.

  • macabrescribe
    June 3, 2009
    macabrescribe
    Gable and Colbert exhibited excellent performances and the movie was very funny, considering the time.
  • rikup
    June 1, 2009
    rikup
    Okay, now for the people who don't find this movie good: go get yourselves some love. This is Clark Gable at his charming best, and Claudette Colbert being simply adorable. An early screwball comedy with not-that-original story, but with whimsy dialo... (read more) Okay, now fo...( read more)r the people who don't find this movie good: go get yourselves some love. This is Clark Gable at his charming best, and Claudette Colbert being simply adorable. An early screwball comedy with not-that-original story, but with whimsy dialogue and wonderful characters. And five Oscar's for a comedy - doesn't happen that often.
  • philliprenke
    May 27, 2009
    philliprenke
    A feel good romantic comedy that every movie in the genre has tried to top since this 1934 best picture winner. Clark Gable plays a witty street smart reporter that befriends and eventually falls in love with a spoiled yet adventerous daughter of a high society banker. Gable and ...( read more)Colbert have great chemistry and there are some classic comedic scenes like the hitch-hiking scene or when they are pretending to be newlyweds who constantly bicker in order to escape a couple of detectives. This movie just puts a smile on your face.
  • whsthree
    April 28, 2009
    whsthree
    Best Date flick ever!!!!!
  • asami1107
    April 23, 2009
    asami1107
    The canon of all love stories I am fascinated.
  • neffielee
    April 19, 2009
    neffielee
    How could you go wrong with a film directed by Capra? Made even better with Gable and Colbert.
  • patrickvillanueva25
    April 10, 2009
    patrickvillanueva25
    TAASAN NYO RIN POH YUNG RATE KO TNX
  • graveling861
    April 3, 2009
    graveling861
    Really the only Clark Gable movie I like, he usually annoys me.
  • amberpadgett76
    March 27, 2009
    amberpadgett76
    This movie is so endearing! LOVED it!
  • UsernameMissing
    March 25, 2009
    UsernameMissing
    This is the one!The prototype!
    All that follows are the rom com who are trying to accomplish what this movie does perfectly.The scene in witch the bride is getting away just before she gets married ,we seen a 76576 versions of it,but this is the ultimate,the 'accidental acquaint...( read more)ance,the funny scenes etc.The whole empire of todays shitty rom-coms started with this Frank Capras brilliant idea.
  • Arlecchino
    March 21, 2009
    Arlecchino
    Spoiled society girl Ellie Andrews (Claudette Colbert) runs away from her father to be with the rich King Westley whom she's just married without permission. On her way though, she meets up with out-of-work journalist Peter Warne (the very handsome Clark Gable) and is totally tak...( read more)en by storm when he refuses to treat her any different from anyone else.
    One of the best romantic comedies through time. They just don't do them like this any longer and it's a shame, and I'm not even a huge fan of romantic comedies.
  • lucidartz
    March 16, 2009
    lucidartz
    Sooo cute, I think I liked the piggy back scene best ;)
    *sigh* I love, love.
    Watched on 3-16-09
  • Budgeburgess
    March 7, 2009
    Budgeburgess
    "It Happened One Night" is one of the most enduring of romantic comedies. Released in 1934, its black and white images are iconic - Gable & Goddard hitching is a classic scene, but there are many others from the film which have an unforgettable cachet. Set against the realities o...( read more)f the Depression, Frank Capra delivers a distinct feel-good quality; this was a film which attracted a huge popular audience.

    Claudette Colbert plays a beautiful heiress who has married a lounge-lizard society type against the wishes of her father. Father keeps daughter locked up on his yacht while he pursues nullification of the marriage, but Colbert escapes and sets off on a bus ride back to her husband in New York. She has never done anything so independent before, has never travelled on anything as cosmopolitan, never mind proletarian, as a bus. She simply hasn't a clue how to survive without servants.

    On the bus she meets down-on-his-luck newspaperman, Clark Gable. The pair team up, eking out the few dollars they have between them, travelling by bus, hitching lifts, coyly sharing motel rooms, a blanket hung by rope to separate twin single beds - a system they famously describe as 'the walls of Jericho'.

    "It Happened One Night" won five Oscars - Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Director, and Best Adaptation (Robert Riskin's script). Made by Columbia, it was an unlikely hit - Capra struggled to cast it and it was certainly not as well promoted as many of its rivals that year. But the public loved it. The film gently disparages the rich, spoiled background of the heiress - the film starts with Colbert on hunger strike, but on the bus journey she will meet people who are actually starving because they have no money. Capra was always able to capture that love-hate relationship between the popular audience and images of the rich.

    Capra seems to have been the only one who believed in the film - Colbert was not his first choice and she was very reluctant to take the role. Gable was loaned to him, and played against character throughout. Shot in four weeks and on a low budget, Capra and Gable wrung a reluctant performance from Colbert - despite her resistance to the part, she delivers an excellent performance. Capra handles the narrative with expertise, giving the audience time to understand the dynamic between the two characters. He blends drama with comedy with romance. Despite its age, the film continues to work as a delightful story, superbly performed and directed, with timeless humour and compassion.

    The DVD offers a very acceptable black and white transfer with adequate sound quality, and some interesting extras - not least a radio broadcast of the play of the film, with Colbert and Gable revisiting their roles before a live audience. Highly entertaining and a film you can watch and watch.
  • pamelaphyllis
    February 20, 2009
    pamelaphyllis
    watch it , its a good movie
  • gracez
    February 8, 2009
    gracez
    Classic. Witty. Clever. Hilarious. Amazing.
  • amanda040890
    February 1, 2009
    amanda040890
    This movie was awesome. I absolutely loved it. It was smart, witty and extremely entertaining. I think Gable and Colbert were brilliant. The film was shot beautifully and the plot was great. Highly recommend to everyone!!!!
  • beatlehead5
    January 31, 2009
    beatlehead5
    The blueprint for all the great romantic comedies that followed. Sit back and watch the sparks fly between Gable's handsome newspaper hound and Colbert's sexy but naive heiress! An absolute classic!!!
  • malacaynomuerto
    January 22, 2009
    malacaynomuerto
    Magnifica!!! una gran comedia de situaciones divertidas con una magnifica pareja protagonica la sencillez es tan hermosa!
  • wierdweevil
    January 5, 2009
    wierdweevil
    not a big Clark Gable fan
  • bjaccobs
    January 4, 2009
    bjaccobs
    Probably one of the best romantic comedies that I've ever seen.
  • HuskersNC949597
    December 22, 2008
    HuskersNC949597
    Gable and Colbert are great, of course.
  • HarleenQuinzel
    December 21, 2008
    HarleenQuinzel
    Clark Gable is a wonderfully charming, smarmy jerk. Fantastic acting and dialogue throughout, and a great ending. You can't help but smile.
  • saintclark
    December 8, 2008
    saintclark
    I liked Clark Gabel in this...I liked his indpenance
  • jakkijelene
    December 4, 2008
    jakkijelene
    A top notch classic romantic comedy. Great chemistry between the leads and the dialogue was fantastic! Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert are really on top of their game and I loved every minute of it. The great amount of sexual tension may surprise some for a movie from 1934. ...( read more) The walls of Jericho are crumbling! Yet, it's funny how the leads never actually kiss. Amazing how effective it is without that. On a side note, this brought to mind another favorite movie of mine, "The Sure Thing". I have to think it was inspired by this film.

Summary

It Happened One Night Summary